18 foot tunnel and 25 suzuki
 

I found a nice used rig I am considering buying. Its a 1844 weldbilt tunnel with a 25 3 cylinder suzuki. The majority of the 18foot tunnels in my marsh have 40hp motors and scoot along pretty well. have any of you guys run a 25 on an 18 foor tunnel? My grandfather has a 25 suzuki on a 1542 tunnel, so I know it is a very powerful for a 25. It will carry a 3 man load in the low 20's if I had to guess. By myself I bump 30 I would think. Will the larger 18 foot boat carry 3 big guys and gear during hunting season? What kind of speeds would be expected with a one man fishing load, or loaded down heavy during duck season?

it should be ok but a little on the slow side, 18' is a lot of boat for a 25hp, they are better suited for 14-15ft boats.

my 15/48 was rated for 40hp so ....

I suspect that boat is rated for something like a 50hp at least so fully loaded it may have trouble planing but otherwise it should be ok provided you aren't in a hurry to get anywhere.

my guess is its going to top out at around 20mph or close to it so your expectations are about right.

maybe get it and sell the motor or see if you can buy it without the motor, sometimes selling just a motor isn't as easy as you might think so try and let the other guy worry about that.

see what the boat is rated for and put a 50hp at least on it, don't go over the rating or you might get ticketed by some diligent WLF agent but max out with the rating since most all boats are already under rated anyways.

one thing to note here is 25hp motors mount differently (2 bolt pattern in the center of the bracket) so you will need to patch or plug the holes from it and drill new ones for the bigger motor (4 bolt pattern near the corners of the bracket)

just my 2 cents

I was looking to keep the motor. The 25 would let me fish in miami corp.

ok, well you have a plan then, just remember to watch the bolt patterns. you may be able to just leave the bolts to block the hole and mount another motor slightly off center to clear them.

I just think with 3 people and a modest load it will be a big strain on that little 25hp motor.

we ran 25 hp mercs on 20' tunnels for so many years... they did just perfect. put a skeg on the bottom and let her eat!

if I'm not mistaking with the 3 cylinder zuki you can put like 50hp reeds and carbs on them and really wake them up and still say 25hp on the cowling for all those places that are 25hp max. Like what everyone does with the mega 25s

yepp^^

Those motors can be juiced up like the yamaha 25 3 cylinder engines and that's why alot of guys like them on a tunnel in the marsh.... you can sell that motor in Arkansas for around $2500 if you decide it ain't what you want, I sold a yamaha 25hp 3 cylinder to a guy up there for $3200 cash sight unseen

Anybody have any experience with a weldbilt tunnel?

Is it flat or semi-v? None here but like others said, hopp that rascal up. Also, LDWF have no control over what size hp you run on any boat.

Its a flatbottm 1844 vented tunnel

You can hop up a Suzuki 25, but you can't put bigger carbs on it. If you're looking for a motor to hop up sell the Suzuki and get a three-cylinder yamaha 25. You can get a lot more out of that motor.

I'm really not interested in doing any engine work other that regular maintenance.

In that case it should do fine. Naturally it won't be as fast as a forty but it we do Ok.

Don't be lazy, throw some new carbs on it.

what (if anything) can be done with a 2002 Suzuki df40 4 stroke 3 cylinder ? (it has fuel injection)

it weights a ton so im interested in more power if its not too involved a process.

^^leave it alone^^


Sent from an Apple Tree..

I doubt you can do anything to it, but I'm not really the one to talk to about that. Cajun Christian would be the man for that question.

Where is cajunchristian on this subject?

I seem to remember your motor needing a little carb work lol